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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
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NASA NTRS1991

Evidence of auroral plasma cavities at Uranus and Neptune from radio burst observations

Radio bursts originating from the stronger magnetic polar regions of both Uranus and Neptune were detected by the planetary radio astronomy experiment during the Voyager 2 encounters with the planets. It has previously been demonstrated that these bursts are beamed into a broad, hollow emission pattern from their auroral sources. It is now shown that the bursts at both planets also manifest similar detailed patterns, with the waves beamed into two separate and distinct radiation cones at intermediate wave frequencies. This double-cone emission pattern is predicted by relativistic cyclotron resonance theory, and application of this theory to the observed emission pattern yields the plasma density structure within the radio source region. Calculations indicate that at both Uranus and Neptune the plasma-to-cyclotron frequency ratio can drop well below 0.01 within the active region. Such low values indicate that the southern auroral zones at both planets contain an auroral plasma cavity that is similar to that found in earth's nightside auroral zone.

Farrell, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory/BATSE observations of energetic electrons scattered by cyclotron resonance with waves from powerful VLF transmitters

To obtain a better understanding of the wave-particle mechanisms responsible for the loss of electrons from the radiation belts, energetic electron data from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) was studied. Powerful ground-based VLF transmitters resonantly scatter electrons from the inner radiation belt onto trajectories from which they precipitate into the atmosphere as they drift eastward. 563 instances in which the satellite traversed a cloud of energetic electrons which had been scattered into quasi-trapped trajectories were identified. From the longitude distribution, it was concluded that waves from the VLF transmitter NWC at 114 deg E are the origin of 257 of the events, and waves from UMSat 44 deg E related to 45 more. In another 177 cases the electrons had drifted from the longitude of these transmitters to a location in the western hemisphere. The previously reported seasonal variation in the frequency of occurrence of cyclotron resonance interaction is confirmed with the continuous coverage provided by GRO. The frequency of occurrence of the cyclotron resonance interactions is largest before sunrise, which we attribute to the diurnal variations in the transmission VLF waves through the ionosphere. For the first time, unique very narrow sheets of electrons occurring in the aftermath of a large geomagnetic storm are reported.

Datlowe, Dayton W.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Analysis of the Cyclotron Facility Calibration and Aircraft Results Obtained by LIULIN-3M Instrument

The LIULIN-3M instrument is a further development of the LIULIN dosimeter-radiometer, which has been used on the NffR space station in the 1988-1994 time period, The LIULIN-3M is designed for continuous monitoring of the radiation environment during the BION-12 satellite flight in 1999. A semiconductor detector with 1 mm thickness and 1 cm(exp 2) area is used in the instrument. Pulse high analysis technique is used for measurement of the energy losses in the detector. The final data sets from the instrument are the flux and the dose rate for the exposition time and 256 channels of LET spectra if a non-nal coincidence of the particles to the detector is considered. The LIULIN-3M instrument was calibrated by proton fluxes with different energies at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility in June 1997 and was used for space radiation measurements during commercial aircraft flights. Obtained calibration and flight results are analyzed in the paper.

Dachev, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Turbulent resistive heating of solar coronal arches

The possibility that coronal heating occurs by means of anomalous Joule heating by electrostatic ion cyclotron waves is examined, with consideration given to currents running from foot of a loop to the other. It is assumed that self-fields generated by the currents are absent and currents follow the direction of the magnetic field, allowing the plasma cylinder to expand radially. Ion and electron heating rates are defined within the cylinder, together with longitudinal conduction and convection, radiation and cross-field transport, all in terms of Coulomb and turbulent effects. The dominant force is identified as electrostatic ion cyclotron instability, while ion acoustic modes remain stable. Rapid heating from an initial temperature of 10 eV to 100-1000 eV levels is calculated, with plasma reaching and maintaining a temperature in the 100 eV range. Strong heating is also possible according to the turbulent Ohm's law and by resistive heating.

Benford, G.↗
NASA NTRS1996

A technique for synergistic atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation durability evaluation of materials for use in LEO

Material erosion data collected during flight experiments such as the Environmental Oxygen Interaction with Materials (EOIM)-3 and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) have raised questions as to the sensitivity of material erosion to levels of atomic oxygen exposure and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation. The erosion sensitivity of some materials such as FEP Teflon used as a thermal control material on satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), is particularly important but difficult to determine. This is in large part due to the inability to hold all but one exposure parameter constant during a flight experiment. This is also difficult to perform in a ground based facility, because often the variation of the level of atomic oxygen or VUV radiation also results in a change in the level of the other parameter. A facility has been developed which allows each parameter to be changed almost independently and offer broad area exposure. The resulting samples can be made large enough for mechanical testing. The facility uses an electron cyclotron resonance plasma source to provide the atomic oxygen. A series of glass plates is used to focus the atomic oxygen while filtering the VUV radiation from the plasma source. After filtering, atomic oxygen effective flux levels can still be measured which are as high as 7 x 10(exp 15) atoms/cm(exp 2)-sec which is adequate for accelerated testing. VUV radiation levels after filtering can be as low as 0.3 suns. Additional VUV suns can be added with the use of deuterium lamps which allow the VUV level to be changed while keeping the flux of atomic oxygen constant. This paper discusses the facility, and results from exposure of Kapton and FEP at pre-determined atomic oxygen flux and VUV sun levels.

Rutledge, Sharon K.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Effect of Oblique Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves on Relativistic Electron Scattering: CRRES Based Calculation

We consider the effect of oblique EMIC waves on relativistic electron scattering in the outer radiation belt using simultaneous observations of plasma and wave parameters from CRRES. The main findings can be s ummarized as follows: 1. In 1comparison with field-aligned waves, int ermediate and highly oblique distributions decrease the range of pitc h-angles subject to diffusion, and reduce the local scattering rate b y an order of magnitude at pitch-angles where the principle absolute value of n = 1 resonances operate. Oblique waves allow the absolute va lue of n > 1 resonances to operate, extending the range of local pitc h-angle diffusion down to the loss cone, and increasing the diffusion at lower pitch angles by orders of magnitude; 2. The local diffusion coefficients derived from CRRES data are qualitatively similar to the local results obtained for prescribed plasma/wave parameters. Conseq uently, it is likely that the bounce-averaged diffusion coefficients, if estimated from concurrent data, will exhibit the dependencies similar to those we found for model calculations; 3. In comparison with f ield-aligned waves, intermediate and highly oblique waves decrease th e bounce-averaged scattering rate near the edge of the equatorial lo ss cone by orders of magnitude if the electron energy does not excee d a threshold (approximately equal to 2 - 5 MeV) depending on specified plasma and/or wave parameters; 4. For greater electron energies_ ob lique waves operating the absolute value of n > 1 resonances are more effective and provide the same bounce_averaged diffusion rate near the loss cone as fiel_aligned waves do.

Gamayunov, K. V.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Observations of radiation from an electron beam artificially injected into the ionosphere

This paper reports the observations of waves generated by a controlled beam of particles artificially injected into the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The measurements were made during the Electron Echo 1 experiment, in which an electron accelerator was carried to a height of 350 km in the ionosphere from Wallops Island, Virginia, on an Aerobee 350 sounding rocket. It injected into the earth's magnetic field over 3000 16-ms pulses of electrons with 40-keV energy and a current of 70 mA at pitch angles between 70 and 110 deg. The ejected fiber glass nose cone carried antennas and receivers to measure the electric field of waves generated by the beam. Associated with the electron beam was radiation detected at frequencies near the electron plasma frequency of the background ionosphere, near twice the electron cyclotron frequency in the whistler mode, and near zero frequency. Associated with the operation of an argon plasma generator used to keep the accelerator neutralized were continuous emissions detected at frequencies near the lower-hybrid resonance (LHR).

Cartwright, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Thomson scattering in a magnetic field. I - Field along z

The Monte Carlo method is used here to solve the radiative transfer equation for Thomson scattering in a constant magnetic field perpendicular to the atmosphere. Emergent radiation and polarization are presented for various atmospheric thicknesses. The circular polarization peaks at frequencies near the cyclotron, omega(c), and for propagation direction along the field. At low field strengths, the circular polarization is roughly proportional to omega(c)/omega; the linear polarization is proportional to the square of omega(c)/omega and the amount of circular polarization present at each scatter and is therefore much smaller than the circular polarization. The linear polarization is large for propagation direction perpendicular to the magnetic field and at frequencies near the cyclotron and in the strong-field limit. The position angle of the linear polarization undergoes a rotation of 90 deg at a value of omega(c)/omega near the square root of three.

Whitney, Barbara A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Electron-cyclotron masers as the source of certain solar and stellar radio bursts

The theory of electron-cyclotron masers as they might apply in the astrophysical context is developed, and it is suggested that such masers provide an explanation for the very bright emission known to be associated with certain kinds of radio bursts observed on the Sun and other stars. Some of the observed properties of solar and stellar radio bursts that seem to require amplification of the radiation are summarized, including millisecond solar spikes, RS CVn binaries, and flares on M dwarf stars. Recent developments in the theory of electron-cyclotron masers are summarized and the current theory is applied to electrons with a loss cone anisotropy, estimating the growth rate and saturation levels. In the interpretation of solar microwave spikes and RS CVn binaries, the mechanisms of gyromagnetic absorption, maser at the second harmonic, polarization, and angular distribution are examined in the light of the theory.

Melrose, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Pitch-angle diffusion of radiation belt electrons within the plasmasphere.

Study of the formation of the quiet-time electron slot, which divides the radiation belt electrons into an inner and an outer zone. The pitch-angle diffusion of radiation belt electrons resulting from resonant interactions with the observed plasmaspheric whistler-mode wave band is quantitatively investigated. The effects of wave propagation obliquely to the geomagnetic field direction with the resulting diffusion at all cyclotron-harmonic resonances and the Landau resonance are evaluated along with the effects of interactions occuring at all geomagnetic latitudes. The results obtained account for the long-term stability of the inner radiation zone, the location of its outer edge as a function of electron energy, and the removal of electrons to levels near zero throughout the slot. Computed pitch-angle distributions and precipitation decay rates are in good agreement with slot-region observations.

Lyons, L. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Cyclotron maser and plasma wave growth in magnetic loops

Cyclotron maser and plasma wave growth which results from electrons accelerated in magnetic loops are studied. The evolution of the accelerated electron distribution is determined by solving the kinetic equation including Coulomb collisions and magnetic convergence. It is found that for modest values of the column depth of the loop the growth rates of instabilities are significantly reduced and that the reduction is much larger for the cyclotron modes than for the plasma wave modes. The large decrease in the growth rate with column depth suggests that solar coronal densities must be much lower than commonly accepted in order for the cyclotron maser to operate. The density depletion has to be similar to that which occurs during auroral kilometric radiation events in the magnetosphere. The resulting distributions are much more complicated than the idealized distributions used in many theoretical studies, but the fastest growing mode can still simply be determined by the ratio of electron plasma to gyrofrequency, U=omega(sub p)/Omega(sub e). However, the dominant modes are different than for the idealized situations with growth of the z-mode largest for U approximately less than 0.5, and second harmonic x-mode (s=2) or fundamental o-mode (s=1) the dominant modes for 0.5 approximately less than U approximately less than 1. The electron distributions typically contain more than one inverted feature which could give rise to wave growth. It is shown that this can result in simultaneous amplification of more than one mode with each mode driven by a different feature and can be observed, for example, by differences in the rise times of the right and left circularly polarized components of the associated spike bursts.

Hamilton, Russell J.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Models for X-Ray Emission from Isolated Pulsars

A model is proposed for the observed combination of power-law and thermal X-rays from rotationally powered pulsars. For gamma-ray pulsars with accelerators very many stellar radii above the neutron star surface, 100 MeV curvature gamma-rays from e(-) or e(+) flowing starward out of such accelerators are converted to e1 pairs on closed field lines all around the star. These pairs strongly affect X-ray emission from near the star in two ways. (1) The pairs are a source of synchrotron emission immediately following their creation in regions where B approx. 10(exp 10) G. This emission, in the photon energy range 0.1 keV less than E(sub X) less than 5 MeV, has a power-law spectrum with energy index 0.5 and X-ray luminosity that depends on the back-flow current, and is typically approx. 10(exp 33) ergs/ s. (2) The pairs ultimately a cyclotron resonance "blanket" surrounding the star except for two holes along the open field line bundles which pass through it. In such a blanket the gravitational pull on e(+,-) pairs toward the star is balanced by the hugely amplified push of outflowing surface emitted X-rays wherever cyclotron resonance occurs. Because of it the neutron star is surrounded by a leaky "hohlraum" of hot blackbody radiation with two small holes, which prevents direct X-ray observation of a heated polar cap of a gamma-ray pulsar. Weakly spin modulated radiation from the blanket together with more strongly spin-modulated radiation from the holes through it would then dominate observed low energy (0.1-10 keV) emission. For non-y-ray pulsars, in which no such accelerators with their accompanying extreme relativistic back-flow toward the star are expected, optically thick e1 resonance blankets should not form (except in special cases very close to the open field line bundle). From such pulsars blackbody radiation from both the warm stellar surface and the heated polar caps should be directly observable. In these pulsars, details of the surface magnetic field evolution, especially of polar cap areas, become relevant to observations. The models are compared to X-ray data from Geminga, PSR 1055-52, PSR 0656+14, PSR 1929+10, and PSR 0950+08.

Wang, F. Y.-H.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Auroral kilometric radiation - A theoretical review

Auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) is a high-density radio wave radiation in the frequency band from 50 to 750 kHz, with a peak around 250 kHz, that has been observed emanating from the auroral zone. In connection with its low frequency, the radiation can not penetrate through the ionosphere to earth, so all observations have been made by satellite. The AKR is closely correlated with the occurrence of discrete auroral arcs, which are believed to be generated by intense inverted V electron precipitation bands. A review is presented of several theories which have been proposed to explain the observed AKR. Attention is given to the conversion of electron cyclotron wave to O mode, the coherent amplification of gyroemission by velocity space instabilities, beam-driven electromagnetic instability via low-frequency turbulence, soliton radiation, loss cone instability, nonlinear beating of electrostatic waves, and the beam amplification of electromagnetic wave via coherent EIC density fluctuations.

Grabbe, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Radiation Effects in CdZnTe Gamma-Ray Detectors Produced by 199 MeV Protons

Many future space missions will use Cadmium Sinc Telluride (CdZnTe) gamma-ray detectors because their operation at room temperature makes compact, lightweight detector systems possible. Even though instruments for space using CdZnTe detectors have already been built, the effect of the high-energy particle space environment on these detectors has not been measured. To determine the effect of energetic charged particles on these detectors, we have bombarded seveal CdZnTe detectors with 199 MeV protons at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility.

radiation↗
NASA NTRS1978

Wave production in an ultrarelativistic electron-positron plasma

In this paper we calculate the eigenmodes associated with an ultrarelativistic electron-positron beam traversing a low-energy electron-positron plasma under physical conditions that may exist along open magnetic field lines above pulsar polar caps. We assume that both beam and plasma are cold and charge neutral, and that magnetic field strength and particle density decrease as the cube of (1/R). In the superstrong magnetic fields near the stellar surface where cyclotron frequencies exceed plasma frequencies, electrostatic waves and associated transverse low-frequency waves are driven unstable by the two-stream type particle distribution. At larger distances above the stellar surface the slow beam cyclotron wave is driven unstable. At even greater radial distance (approximately when particle energy density exceeds magnetic energy density) both the Ordinary and Alfven modes become unstable. All of these instabilities can lead to generation of radiation. If the particle distribution as generated at the stellar surface, assumed to consist of two streams, is modified only by plasma effects, then electrostatic and associated transverse waves may only be unstable near the stellar surface. The beam cyclotron mode which is driven by a two-stream or an inverted particle distribution may be stable.

Hardee, P. E.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Radio wave heating of the corona and electron precipitation during flares

Electron-cyclotron masers, excited while energy release is occurring in a flaring magnetic loop, are likely to generate extremely intense radiation at decimeter wavelengths. The energy in the radiation can be comparable with that in the electrons associated with hard X-ray bursts, i.e., a significant fraction of the total energy in the flare. Essentially all of the radio energy is likely to be reabsorbed by gyroresonance absorption, either near the emitting region or at some distance away in neighboring loops. Enhanced diffusion of fast electrons caused by the maser can lead to precipitation at the maximum possible rate, and hence account for hard X-ray emission from the footpoints of the magnetic loops.

Melrose, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Narrow spectral peaks in electrons precipitating from the slot region

Narrow L-dependent peaks commonly occur in the energy spectra of electrons precipitating from the inner radiation belt at L approximately equal to 1.5-1.85, and the cause of the peaks has been attributed to cyclotron resonance interactions with waves generated by VLF transmitters. In the slot region, L-dependent peaks have also been reported at L approximately equal to 2-3.5, but these have been predominately wider and consistent with their origin being cyclotron resonance interactions involving naturally occurring hiss. The infrequent occurrence of narrow peaks in electrons precipitating at L greater than or approximately equal to 2 is investigated. From coordinated wave and plasma density measurements it is found that if the narrow peaks are formed by first-order cyclotron resonant interactions occurring close to the magnetic equator between narrow band waves and the trapped electron population, then the equatorial plasma density gradients are unusually steep. This finding is consistent with the evidence previously obtained by other techniques for structured plasma density profiles in that L shell region of space.

Imhof, W. L.↗